Worlds Greatest, Confidential and Secret verses from Yoga Vasistha

Worlds Greatest, Confidential and Secret verses from Yoga Vasistha

Yoga Vashishtha, written by Sage Valmiki, is the spiritual teaching imparted by Sage Vashishtha to Sri Rama. Yoga Vashishtha is also known as the Maha Ramayana, the Uttar Ramayana and the Vashishtha Ramayana. It describes how Rama’s knowledge, wisdom and understanding evolved and progressed throughout the different stages of his life. Yoga Vashishtha is an elaborate work, consisting of 32,000 verses and 64,000 lines.

The main theme of Yoga Vashishtha is that the soul is undergoing a dream from which it must awake. This dream represents our association and identification with the world. The fact that it is described as being a dream means that whatever is in it has to be false. Nothing in a dream can be true. Waking up from that dream is the ultimate goal, Self-realization.

[Vasistha:]
There are four gate-keepers at the entrance to the Realm of Freedom. They are self-control, spirit of inquiry, contentment and good company. The wise seeker should diligently cultivate the friendship of these, or at least one of them.

When the mind is at peace, pure, tranquil, free from delusion or hallucination, untangled and free from cravings, it does not long for anything nor does it reject anything. This is self-control or conquest of mind.

All that is good and auspicious flows from self-control. All evil is dispelled by self-control. No gain, no pleasure in this world or in heaven is comparable to the delight of self-control. The delight one experiences in the presence of the self-controlled is incomparable. Everyone spontaneously trusts him. None (not even demons and goblins) hates him.

Self-control, O Rama, is the best remedy for all physical and mental ills. When there is self-control, even the food you eat tastes better, else it tastes bitter. He who wears the armour of self-control is not harmed by sorrow.

He who even while hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and tasting what is regarded as pleasant and unpleasant, is neither elated nor depressed — he is self-controlled. He who looks upon all beings with equal vision, having brought under control the sensations of pleasure and pain, is self-controlled. He who though living amongst all is unaffected by them, neither feels elated nor hates, even as one is during sleep — he is self-controlled.

Inquiry (the second gate-keeper to liberation) should be undertaken by an intelligence that has been purified by a close study of the scripture, and this inquiry should be unbroken. By such inquiry the intelligence becomes keen and is able to realize the supreme; hence inquiry alone is the best remedy for the long-lasting illness known as rebirth.

The wise man regards strength, intellect, efficiency and timely action as the fruits of inquiry. Indeed kingdom, prosperity, enjoyment, as well as final liberation, are all the fruits of inquiry. The spirit of inquiry protects one from the calamities that befall the unthinking fool. When the mind has been rendered dull by the absence of inquiry, even the cool rays of the moon turn into deadly weapons, and the childish imagination throws up a goblin in every dark spot.

Hence, the non-inquiring fool is really a storehouse of sorrow. It is the absence of inquiry that gives rise to actions that are harmful to oneself and to others, and to numerous psychosomatic illnesses. Therefore, one should avoid the company of such unthinking people.

They in whom the spirit of inquiry is ever awake illumine the world, enlighten all who come into contact with them, dispel the ghosts created by an ignorant mind, and realize the falsity of sense-pleasures and their objects. O Rama, in the light of inquiry there is realization of the eternal and unchanging reality; this is the supreme. With it one does not long for any other gain nor does one spurn anything. He is free from delusion, attachment;

he is not inactive nor does he get drowned in action; he lives and functions in this world and at the end of a natural life-span he reaches the blissful state of total freedom.

The eye of spiritual inquiry does not lose its sight even in the midst of all activities; he who does not have this eye is indeed to be pitied. It is better to be born as a frog in the mud, a worm in dung, a snake in a hole, but not be one without this eye. What is inquiry? To inquire thus: “Who am I? How has this evil of samsara (repetitive history) come into being?” is true inquiry.

Knowledge of truth arises from such inquiry; from such knowledge there follows tranquillity in oneself; and then there arises the supreme peace that passeth understanding and the ending of all sorrow.

Contentment is another gate-keeper to liberation. He who has quaffed the nectar of contentment does not relish craving for sense-pleasures; no delight in this world is as sweet as contentment which destroys all sins.

What is contentment? To renounce all craving for what is not obtained unsought and to be satisfied with what comes unsought, without being elated or depressed even by them — this is contentment. As long as one is not satisfied in the self, he will be subjected to sorrow. With the rise of contentment the purity of one’s heart blooms. The contented man who possesses nothing owns the world.

Satsanga (company of wise, holy and enlightened persons) is yet another gatekeeper to liberation. Satsanga enlarges one’s intelligence, destroys one’s ignorance and one’s psychological distress. Whatever be the cost, however difficult it may be, whatever obstacles may stand in its way, satsanga should never be neglected. For, satsanga alone is one’s light on the path of life.

Satsanga is indeed superior to all other forms of religious practices like charity, austerity, pilgrimages and the performance of religious rites.

One should by every means in one’s power adore and serve the holy men who have realized the truth and in whose heart the darkness of ignorance has been dispelled. They who, on the other hand, treat such holy men disrespectfully, surely invite great suffering.

These four — contentment, satsanga, the spirit of inquiry, and self-control — are the four surest means by which they who are drowning in this ocean of samsara can be saved. Contentment is the supreme gain. Satsanga is the best companion to the destination. The spirit of inquiry itself is the greatest wisdom.

And, self-control is supreme happiness. If you are unable to resort to all these four, then practice one: by the diligent practice of one of these, the others will also be found in you. The highest wisdom will seek you of its own accord. Until you tame the wild elephant of your mind with the help of these noble qualities, you cannot have progress towards the supreme, even if you become a god, demi-god or a tree.

Therefore, O Rama, strive by all means to cultivate these noble qualities. He who is endowed with the qualities that I have enumerated thus far is qualified to listen to what I am about to reveal.

When the mind is at peace and the heart leaps to the supreme truth, when all the disturbing thought-waves in the mind-stuff have subsided and there is unbroken flow of peace and the heart is filled with the bliss of the absolute, when thus the truth has been seen in the heart, then this very world becomes an abode of bliss.

When the notion of (empirical) self is destroyed by the withdrawal of the fuel of ideas from the mind, that which is, is the infinite.

The world exists because consciousness is: and the world is the body of consciousness. There is no division, no difference, no distinction. Hence the universe can be said to be both real and unreal: real because of the reality of consciousness which is its own reality, and unreal because the universe does not exist as universe, independent of consciousness.

Direct inquiry into the movements of thought in one’s own consciousness is the supreme guru, the greatest teacher.

Eternal Brahman, pure existence, is known when the three-fold modifications known as waking, dreaming and deep sleep cease and when the mind-stuff is rid of all movement of thought. It is expressed in silence when the known comes to an end.

This Self can be attained by a hundred ways and means; yet when it is attained, nothing has been attained! It is the supreme Self; yet it is nothing [no-thing]. One roams in this forest of samsara, or repetitive history, till there is the dawn of that wisdom which is able to dispel the root-ignorance in which the world appears to be real. But the truth is that it is the infinite consciousness that perceives the universe within itself, through its own power known as Illusion. That which is seen within also appears outside.

When the truth is known, all descriptions cease, and silence alone remains.

First destroy the mental conditioning by renouncing cravings; and then remove from your mind even the concept of bondage and liberation. Be totally free of conditioning.

Ideas and thoughts are bondage; and their coming to an end is liberation. Therefore, be free of them and do whatever has to be done spontaneously.

It is only when the mind has become devoid of all attachment, when it is not swayed by the pairs of opposites, when it is not attracted by objects and when it is totally independent of all supports, that it is freed from the cage of delusion.

[Prahlada to Lord Vishnu:]
Whatever comes, let it come; whatever goes, let it go. Let notions of diverse experiences either arise or set in the body: I am neither in them nor they in me.

Even as steel cuts the steel-beam which has been heated, I have subdued the mind with its own purified state. I have cut asunder cravings, ignorance and foolishness by their opposites.

Egolessly, my body functions with its inherent energy. The past tendencies, mental conditioning and limitations have been completely destroyed. I begin to wonder: how was it that for such a long time I was caught up in the trap of ego-sense! Freed from dependency, from habits of
thought, from desire and cravings, from deluded belief in the existence of the ego, from the coloring of pleasure-seeking tendency and from revelry — my mind has reached a state of utter quiescence. With this all sorrow has come to an end and the light of supreme bliss has dawned!

[Vishnu to Prahlada:]
Even though you are in the body, since you do not have the body, you are bodiless. You are the observer which is immaterial intelligence: just as, though air exists in space it is not attached to space, and hence it is free from spatial limitation.

Enlightened men, though they be constantly engaged in activity, do nothing: it is not by means of inaction that they reach the state of non-action! This very fact of non-action frees you from experiences: for there is no harvest where there is no sowing. When thus both notions of I do and I experience have ceased, there remains only peace; when that peace is firmly grounded, there is liberation.

Without self-inquiry and the consequent inner tranquillity, neither devotion to Lord Vishnu nor self-knowledge is possible. Hence resort to self-inquiry and the practice of the End to distraction and thus adore the Self: if you are successful in this, you have attained perfection; if not, you are no more than a wild donkey.

Lord Vishnu in fact dwells as the innermost being of all; they are surely the worst among men who, abandoning the indweller, seek Vishnu outside.

Consciousness free from the limitations of the mind is known as the inner intelligence: it is the essential nature of no-mind. That is the reality, that is supreme consciousness, that is the state known as the supreme self, that is omniscience.

O mind, abandon this perception of diversity and realize the unreality of your own independence from the infinite consciousness: this is liberation.

He is a sage liberated while living who has abandoned all motivated actions, who is free from conditioning and who has given up all desires and hopes. O Rama, abandon all desires and remain at peace within yourself. When you perceive the truth that the self alone is all this and that diversity is just a word without substance, you will become totally free from desire or hope.

He whose mind is firmly established in peace through the practice of yoga has the right vision of the truth. To see that the supreme self is without beginning or end, and that these countless objects are in fact the self and no other, is the right vision. Erroneous vision leads to rebirth; right vision ends rebirth. In it there is no subject-object (knower-knowable) relationship; for the self (consciousness) is the knower, knowledge and the knowable, too, and the division is ignorance.

The state of mind of the liberated ones who are still living and who see both the supreme truth and the relative appearance, is known as satva (transparency). It is improper to call it the mind: it is really satva. These knowers of truth are mindless and are in a state of perfect equilibrium: they live their life here playfully.

They behold the inner light all the time, even though they seem to be engaged in diverse actions. Concepts of duality, unity or such others do not arise in them, for there are no tendencies in their heart. The very seed of ignorance is burnt in the state of satva and it does not again give rise to delusion.

The best of all states, O sage, is indeed the vision of the one infinite consciousness. Even the contemplation of the self which is infinite consciousness banishes sorrow, terminates the long-dream vision of the world-appearance, purifies the mind and the heart, and dispels worries and misfortunes. That contemplation of the self is devoid of mentation.

If one practices kumbhaka (suspension of breath) after exhaling the prana to a distance farther from where the apana rises (the twelve finger-breadth distance), he is not subject to sorrow any more. Or, if one is able to see the space within oneself where the inhaled breath turns into the impulse for exhalation, he is not born again. By seeing where the prana and apana terminate their motions and by holding fast to that state of peace, one is not subject to sorrow again.

If one keenly observes the place and the exact moment at which the prana is consumed by the apana, he does not grieve. Or, if one keenly observes the place and the exact moment at which the apana is consumed by prana, his mind does not arise again. Therefore, behold that place and that moment at which prana is consumed by apana and apana is consumed by prana inside and outside the body. For that precise moment at which the prana has ceased to move and the apana has not begun to move, there arises a kumbhaka which is effortless: the wise regard that as an important state. When there is effortless suspension of breath, it is the supreme state. This is the self, it is pure infinite consciousness. He who reaches this does not grieve.

I contemplate that infinite consciousness which is the indwelling presence in the prana but which is neither with prana nor other than prana. I contemplate that infinite consciousness which is the indwelling presence in the apana but which is neither with apana nor other than apana. That is the middle between prana and apana — I contemplate that infinite consciousness. I contemplate that consciousness which is the prana of prana, which is the life of life, which alone is responsible for the preservation of the body; which is the mind of the mind, the intelligence in the intellect, the reality in the ego-sense.

I salute that consciousness in which all things abide, from which they emerge, which is all and everywhere and which is meritorious. I salute that consciousness in which prana ceases to move but apana does not arise and which dwells in the space in front (or, at the root) of the nose. I salute the consciousness which is the source for both prana and apana, which is the energy in both prana and apana and which enables the senses to function. I salute that consciousness which is in fact the essence of the internal and the external kumbhakas, which is the only goal of the contemplation of prana, which enables the prana to function and which is the cause of all causes. I take refuge in that supreme being.

By the regular and systematic practice of pranayama as described by me, I have gained the state of purity and I am not disturbed even when the mount Meru (or the north pole) is shaken. This state of samadhi or total equanimity is not lost whether I am walking or standing, whether I am awake, asleep or dreaming.

With my vision turned upon the self, I rest in the self, with the self in all conditions of life, whatever changes may take place in the world or in the environment. Thus have I lived right from the time of the previous cosmic dissolution.

I do not contemplate either the past or the future: my attention is constantly directed to the present. I do what has to be done in the present, without thinking of the results. Without considerations of being or non-being, desirable and undesirable, I remain in the self: hence I am happy, healthy and free from illness.

My state is the fruit of contemplation of the moment of union of the prana and the apana (when the self is revealed); I do not entertain vain notions like, I have obtained this and I shall gain that, too. I do not praise nor do I censure anyone (neither myself nor others) or anything at any time; my mind does not exult on gaining what is considered good nor does it become depressed on obtaining what is considered evil; hence my state of happiness and health. I embrace
the supreme renunciation, having renounced even the desire to live;

Thus my mind does not entertain cravings but is peaceful and balanced. I behold the one common substratum in all things ( a piece of wood, a beautiful woman, a mountain, a blade of grass, ice and fire and space) and I am not worried by thoughts like What shall I do now? or

What shall I get tomorrow morning? I am not bothered by thoughts of old age and death, or by longing for happiness, nor do I regard some as mine and others as not-mine. I know that everything at all times, everywhere, is but the one cosmic consciousness. These are the secrets of my state of happiness and health. I do not think I am the body, even while engaged in physical activity as I know this world-appearance to be illusory and live in it as if fast asleep.

I am disturbed neither by prosperity nor by adversity when they are granted to me, as I regard them with equal vision (even as I look upon both my arms as arms). Whatever I do is untainted by desire or the mud of ego-sense; thus I do not lose my head when I am powerful or go begging when I am poor; I do not let hopes and expectations touch me and even when a thing is old and worn out I look upon it with fresh eyes as if it were new. I rejoice with the happy ones and
share the grief of the grief-stricken, for I am the friend of all, knowing I belong to none and none belongs to me. I know that I am the world, all the activities in it and its intelligence. This is the secret of my longevity.

The concepts and notions that are illumined by the infinite consciousness within itself shine as this creation, on account of the movement of energy within consciousness, precisely as dreams arise during sleep. Otherwise, it is totally impossible for an object of perception to exist outside of the omnipresent infinite consciousness.

Even as the duality experienced in dream is illusory, the duality implied in the creation of the world is illusory. Even as the objects seem to exist and function in the inner world of consciousness in a dream, objects seem to exist and function in the outer world of consciousness during the wakeful state.

Nothing really happens in both these states. Even as consciousness alone is the reality in the dream state, consciousness alone is the substance in the wakeful state too. That is the Lord, that is the supreme truth, that you are, that I am and that is all.

[Lord Shiva:]
It is the mind alone that is the root-cause of experiencing the world as if it were real; but it cannot be truly considered such a cause since there can be no mind other than pure consciousness. Thus, if it is realized that the perceiving mind itself is unreal, then it is clear that the perceived world is unreal too.

Consciousness does not truly undergo any modification nor does it become impure. The impurity itself is imaginary; imagination is the impurity. When this is realized, the imagination is abandoned and impurity ceases. However, even in those who have realized this, the impurity arises unless the imagination is firmly rejected.

By self-effort this imagination can be easily rejected: if one can drop a piece of straw, one can with equal ease also drop the three worlds! What is it that cannot be achieved by one’s self-effort?

This infinite consciousness, which is devoid of concepts and extremely subtle, knows itself. In self-forgetfulness this consciousness entertains thoughts and experiences perception, though all this is possible because of the very nature of infinite consciousness: even as one who is asleep is also inwardly awake!

Then the mind which is pure abandons conjuring up images of objects. It attains a state like deep sleep or the consciousness of homogeneity, thus going beyond the possibility of birth again. It rests in supreme peace. This is the first state.

Now listen to the second state. Consciousness devoid of mind is all-light, free from darkness and beautiful like space. The infinite consciousness frees itself totally from all modification or duality and remains as if in deep sleep or as a figure in uncut marble. It abandons even the factors of time and space and transcends both inertness and motion; it remains as pure being beyond expression. It transcends the three state of consciousness and remains as the fourth or the state of undivided infinite consciousness.

Now comes the third state. This is beyond even what is termed Brahman, the self, etc. It is sometimes referred to as turiya-atita (beyond the fourth or turiya state). It is supreme and ultimate. It defies description, for it is beyond the practices which are described by those who undertake them.

O sage, remain forever in that third state. That is the real worship of the Lord. Then you will be established in that which is beyond what is and what is not. Nothing has been created and there is nothing to vanish. It is beyond the one and the two. It is the eternal, beyond the eternal and the transient; it is pure mass of consciousness. In it there is no question of diversity. It is all, it is supreme blessedness and peace, it is beyond expression. It is purest OM. It is transcendent. It is supreme.

[Vasistha:]
This world-illusion has arisen because of the movement of thought in the mind; when that ceases the illusion will cease, too, and the mind becomes no-mind.

This can also be achieved by the restraint of prana. That is the supreme state. The bliss that is experienced in a state of no-mind, the bliss which is uncaused, is not found even in the highest heaven. In fact, that bliss is inexpressible and indescribable and should not even be called happiness! The mind of the knower of the truth is no-mind: it is pure satva. After living with such no-mind for some time, there arises the state known as turiya-atita (the state beyond the transcendental, or the turiya state). (VI.1:44)

Rama asked: If Brahman does not undergo any modification at all, how does this world-appearance, which is and is not real, arise in it?

Vasistha replied:
True modification, O Rama, is a transformation of a substance into another; like the curdling of milk, in which case the curd cannot once again return to its milk-state. Such is not the case with Brahman which was unmodified before the world-appearance and which regains its unmodified state after the world-appearance. Both in the beginning and in the end, it is unmodified homogeneous consciousness.

The momentary and apparent modification in this is but a mild disturbance of consciousness, not a modification at all. In that Brahman there is neither a subject nor an object of consciousness.

Whatever a thing is in the beginning and in the end, that alone it is. If it appears to be something else in the middle, that appearance is regarded as unreal. Hence, the self is the self in the beginning and in the end and therefore in the middle, too! It never undergoes any transformation or modification.

Rama asked again: In that self which is pure consciousness, how does this mild disturbance arise?

Vasistha replied: I am convinced, O Rama, that that infinite consciousness alone is real and that there is no disturbance at all in its nature. We use words like Brahman just for the sake of communication or instruction, not to raise notions of one and two. You, I and all these things are pure Brahman: there is no ignorance at all. (VI.1:49)

Rama said:
This fullness is filled with fullness. Fullness is born from fullness. Fullness fills fullness. In fullness fullness is ever established. However, for the further expansion of awareness, I ask again: pray bear with me. The sense-organs are obviously present in all: yet how is it that the dead person does not experience sensations, though while living he experiences their objects through those organs?

Vasistha continued:
Apart from the pure consciousness there are neither the senses, nor the mind, nor even their objects. It is that consciousness alone which appears as the objects in nature and as the senses in the person. When that consciousness has apparently become the subtle body (puryastaka), it reflects the external objects.

The eternal and infinite consciousness is indeed free of all modifications; but when there arises the notion of I am in it, that notion is known as the Individual Self.

It is that Individual Self that lives and moves in this body. When the notion of I arises (ahambhavana), it is known as egosense (ahamkara). When there are thoughts (manana), it is known as mind (manas). When there is awareness (bodha), it is intelligence (buddhi). When seen (drs) by the individual soul (indra) it is known as the sense (indriya). When the notion of body prevails it appears to be body; when the notion of object prevails it appears to be the diverse
objects. However, through the persistence of these notions, the subtle personality condenses into material substantiality.

The same consciousness thereafter thinks I am the body, I am the tree, etc. Thus self-deluded it rises, until it attains a pure birth and is spiritually awakened. Then by being devoted to the truth, it attains self-knowledge. (VI.1:50)

It is wrong perception that sees a bracelet in gold. The mere appearance becomes the cause for such wrong perception. This Maya (unreal appearance) is but a figure of speech, the appearance has the same relation to the supreme self that a wave has to the ocean. When one sees this truth, the appearance ceases to be a delusion.

It is on account of ignorance that this long-dream world-appearance appears to be real: thus does the Individual Self come into being. But when the truth is realized, it is seen that all this is the self.

Whatever be the notion that one entertains, it is the self alone that appears as that notion. This universe is the result of the notions thus entertained by countless such individuals. The original notion entertained by one attains the purity of consciousness similar to that of Brahma, one sees all this as a long dream. (VI.1:67)

Valmiki
They who are fully awakened and who are constantly engaged in samadhi and who are thoroughly enlightened are known as samkhya-yogis. They who have reached the state of bodiless consciousness through pranayama, etc., are known as yoga-yogis. Indeed, the two are essentially the same. The cause of this world-appearance and bondage is indeed the mind. Both these paths lead to the End to the mind. Hence, by the devoted and dedicated practice of either the End to the movement of prana or the End to thought, liberation is attained. This is the essence of all scriptures dealing with liberation.

Rama asked:
O sage, if the End to the movement of prana is liberation, then death is liberation! And all people attain liberation at death!

Vasistha replied:
O Rama, when prana is about to leave the body it already makes contact with those elements with which the next one is to be fashioned. These elements are indeed the crystallization of the vasanas (psychological conditioning, memory-store, past impressions and predisposition) of the Individual Self, the reason why the Individual Self clings to those elements.

When the prana leaves the body it takes with it all the vasanas of the Individual Self. Not indeed until these vasanas have been destroyed will the mind become no-mind. The mind does not abandon the life-force till self-knowledge arises. By self-knowledge the vasanas are destroyed and thus the mind, too; it is then that the prana does not move. That indeed is the supreme peace.

It is by self-knowledge that the unreality of the concepts concerning worldly objects is realized. This puts an end to vasanas and to the link between the mind and the life-force. Vasanas constitute mind. Mind is the aggregate of the vasanas and naught else; if the latter cease, that itself is the supreme state. Knowledge is the knowledge of the reality. Vicara or inquiry itself is knowledge.

Total dedication to one thing, restraint of prana and the End to the mind — if one of these three is perfected, one attains the supreme state. The life-force and the mind are closely related like a flower and its fragrance, or sesame seed and oil. Hence, if the movement of thought in the mind ceases, the movement of prana ceases, too. If the total mind is one-pointedly devoted to a single truth, the movement of mind and therefore of life-force ceases.

The best method is by inquiring into the nature of the self which is infinite. Your mind will be completely absorbed. Then both the mind and the inquiry will cease. Remain firmly established in what remains after that.

When the mind does not crave for pleasure it is absorbed into the self, along with the life-force. Ignorance is non-existence: self-knowledge is the supreme state! Mind alone is ignorance when it appears to be a reality; the realization of its non-existence is the supreme state.

If the mind remains absorbed even for a quarter of an hour it undergoes a complete change, for it tastes the supreme state of self-knowledge and will not abandon it. Nay, even if the mind has
tasted it for a second, it does not return to this-worldly state. The very seeds of samsara (world-appearance or cycle of birth and death) are fried. With them, ignorance is dispelled and the vasanas are utterly pacified; one who has reached this is rooted in satva (truth). He beholds the inner light and rests in supreme peace. (VI.1:69)

Rama, expand the mind with the mind. Remain at peace within your self, seeing the one infinite being in all. Like the king Bhagiratha you will achieve the impossible if you are able to remain firm in your knowledge of the truth and if you engage yourself in appropriate action in a life characterized by effortless experiencing of the natural course of events. (VI.1:73)

Tritala said:
intellectual knowledge is not knowledge! Unattachment to wife, son and house, equanimity in pleasure and pain, love of solitude, being firmly established in self-knowledge — this is knowledge, all else is ignorance! Only when the egosense is thinned out does this self-knowledge arise.

By self-effort and by resolutely turning away from the pursuit of pleasure. And by the resolute breaking down of the prison-house of shame (false dignity), etc. If you abandon all this and remain firm, the egosense will vanish and you will realize that you are the supreme being. (VI.1:74)

Shikhidhvaja, having renounced everything, remain unmoved. I shall narrate to you the story of Shikhidhvaja. They came to the conclusion that self-knowledge alone can enable one to overcome sorrow. They devoted themselves to self-knowledge with their heart and soul. They resorted to the company of sages of self-knowledge and adored them. They engaged themselves constantly in discussing self-knowledge and in promoting self-knowledge in each other.

Lo and behold! I have realized that it is the self which is pure consciousness that dwells as the Individual Self because the consciousness becomes aware of itself as its own object. This object is insentient and unreal; and because the self identifies itself with this object it apparently clothes itself with insentience, having apparently (but not in truth) abandoned its essential nature as consciousness. For, such is the nature of consciousness: whatever it conceives itself to be, whether real or imaginary, that it becomes, apparently having abandoned its own nature. Thus, though the self is pure consciousness, it imagines itself to be insentient and unreal on account of its perception of objects.

Contemplating thus for a considerable time, Chudala became enlightened.

It is this consciousness that is known by various names — Brahman, supreme self, etc. In it there is no division into subject-object and their relation (knowledge). Consciousness becomes conscious of its own consciousness; it cannot be realized otherwise (as an object of consciousness). It is this consciousness alone that is manifest as the mind, intellect and the senses.

This world-appearance, too, is but consciousness apart from which nothing is. Consciousness does not undergo any change: the only apparent change is the illusory appearance, which is illusory and therefore not real!

In an imaginary ocean, imaginary waves arise. The mind-stuff itself is the ocean and the waves are of the mind-stuff, too. Even so the world-appearance arises in consciousness and is therefore non-different from it.

I am free from all delusion. I am at peace. All these gods, demons and numerous beings are essentially unmade, for they are non-different from the consciousness. The appearance is illusory, even as soldiers made of clay are clay, not soldiers.

The seer (subject) and the seen (object) are in reality the one pure consciousness. How has this delusion which gives rise to concepts like “This is oneness” and “This is duality” come into being? In whom does that delusion exist? Whose is it? I rest in nirvana (liberation or enlightenment), without the least mental agitation, having realized that all that is (whether sentient or insentient) is pure consciousness. There is no “this” nor “I” nor “the other”; there is no being nor non-being. All this is peace. Having thus realized, Chudala rested in supreme peace. (VI.1:77)

[Vasistha:] There is but one consciousness which is pure, invisible, the subtlest of the subtle, tranquil, which is neither the world nor its activities. It is aware of itself: hence this Individual Self-hood arises. This Individual Self perceives this unreal body as real. But when the Individual Self perceives it in the light of self-knowledge, this delusion vanishes, and the body also becomes utterly tranquil. Then the Individual Self does not perceive the body. The confusion of the body with the self is the greatest delusion, which the light of the sun cannot dispel.

When the body is considered real, it becomes a real body. When it is perceived with the knowledge that it is unreal, it is merged in space. Whatever notion is firmly held concerning the body, that it becomes.

Rama asked:
If even such a great siddha-yogini as Chudala could not bring about the spiritual awakening and the enlightenment of king Shikhidhvaja, how does one attain enlightenment at all?

Vasistha said:
The instruction of a disciple by a preceptor is but a tradition: the cause of enlightenment is but the purity of the disciple’s consciousness. (VI.1:82)

Rama asked: Lord, you know all the truths. When the egosense is dissolved in the mind, by what signs does one recognize the nature of satva?

Vasistha said:
Such a mind, O Rama, is untouched by sins like greed and delusion even under the worst of provocation. Virtues like delight (in the prosperity of others) do not leave the person whose egosense has been dissolved. The knots of mental conditioning and tendencies are cut asunder. Anger is greatly attenuated and delusion becomes ineffective. Desire becomes powerless. Greed flees. The senses function on an even keel, neither getting excited nor depressed. Even if pleasure and pain are reflected on his face, they do not agitate the mind which regards them all as insignificant. The heart rests in equanimity.

The enlightened man who is endowed with all these virtues effortlessly and naturally wears the body. Being and non-being (like prosperity and adversity) when they follow each other creating diverse and even great contradictions, do not generate joy and sorrow in the holy ones.
Woe unto him who does not tread this path to self-knowledge which is within reach if he directs his intelligence properly. The means for crossing this ocean of samsara (world-appearance or the cycle of birth and death) and for the attainment of supreme peace are inquiry into the nature of the self (Who am I?) and of the world (what is the world?) and of the truth (What is truth?). (VI.1:115)

The Lord sports in this world-appearance and then withdraws it into himself. The power or energy that creates and brings about bondage is also the power or the energy that dissolves creation and liberates. Just as the tree pervades all its parts and leaves, this infinite consciousness pervades the entire universe. Alas, the ignorant person does not realize it though it is in every cell of his being. He who sees that the self alone is all enjoys bliss.

One should gain this understanding through study of scriptures and company of holy ones. This is the first step. Reflection or inquiry is the second. Non-attachment or psychological freedom is the third. The fourth is snapping of the bonds of vasanas (conditioning and tendencies). The bliss that is derived from pure awareness is the fifth; in it the liberated sage lives as if in half-sleep. Self-knowledge is the sixth in which the sage is immersed in a mass of bliss and lives as if in deep sleep. The seventh state is perfect equanimity and purity. Beyond this (still the seventh state) is the turiyatita which is beyond description. (VI.1:119)

The Lord assumes individuality (Individual Self). The elements arise in the cosmos without any reason whatsoever. The individual which emanated from the Lord experiences the elements (objects) as if they were created by him. Thus do all Individual Selfs arise and function for no obvious reason. But from then on, their own individual actions become the causes for their subsequent experience of pleasure and pain. The limitation of one’s own understanding is the cause for the individual’s actions.

One’s limited understanding and one’s own notions are the cause of bondage, and liberation is their absence. Hence abandon all notions (sankalpa). If you are attracted by anything here, you are bound; if you are not attracted at all you are free. Whatever you do and whatever you enjoy, you do not really do, nor do you enjoy. Know this and be free. (VI.1:123)

Only as long as one believes in objective existence does desire arise! This alone is samsara: the feeling This is. Its cessation is liberation (moksha). This is the essence of jnana or wisdom. Recognition of objects gives rise to desire. Non-recognition of objects ends desire. When desire ends, the Individual Self drops its self-limitation. The great man therefore abandons all thoughts concerning what has been experienced and what has not been experienced. I declare with uplifted arms that the thought-free, notion-less state is the best. It is infinitely superior to the sovereignty of the world. Non-thinking is known as yoga. Remaining in that state, perform appropriate actions or do nothing! As long as thoughts of I and mine persist, sorrow does not cease. When such thoughts cease, sorrow ceases. Knowing this, do as you please.

Valmiki said to Bharadvaja:
Having heard this quintessence of the highest wisdom and having been overwhelmed by shakti-pata, Rama remained immersed in the ocean of bliss for a while. He had ceased to ask questions, request answers and endeavor to understand them. He had become established in the highest state of self-knowledge.

Bharadvaja asked:
O preceptor! It is indeed a delight to hear that thus Rama attained the supreme state. But how is it possible for us who are foolish and ignorant and who are of sinful disposition to attain that state which is difficult even for gods like Brahma to reach?

Valmiki said:
I have narrated to you in full the dialogue between Rama and Vasistha. Consider it well. For that is also my instruction to you.

This delusion continues till you reach the feet of the enlightened sages and gain the right knowledge from them. Dear one, that which did not exist in the beginning and will not exist in the end does not exist even now. This world-appearance is like a dream. The sole reality in which it appears and disappears is the infinite consciousness. In the ocean of samsara or ignorance there arises the notion of I, on account of the beginningless potential of self-
limitation. Thereupon, the movement of thought generates other notions like mine-ness, attraction and repulsion, etc. Once these notions strike root in one’s consciousness, one inevitably falls a prey to endless calamities and sorrow.

Dive deep into the inner peace, not in the sea of diversity. Who lives, who is dead, who has come — why do you get lost in such false notions? When the one self alone is the reality, where is room for another? The theory that Brahman appears as the world (just as rope appears as snake) is meant only for the entertainment of the childish and ignorant. The enlightened ones rest forever in the truth which does not even appear to be different.

Ignorant people who dislike seclusion are sunk in sorrow and occasionally they may smile. The knowers of the truth on the other hand are happy and smiling at all times. The truth or the self is subtle and hence it appears to be veiled by ignorance. But even if you believe in the atomic substantiality of the world, the self does not go away. Why then do you grieve? The unreal (ignorance, etc.) does not come into being at any time, nor does the reality or the self ever
cease to be.

Be still and witness this cosmic dance! They who are devoted to the gods, to the holy brahmanas and to the guru, and who adhere to the tenets of the scriptures, earn the grace of the supreme Lord. O Bharadvaja, listen to what I am going to say. By merely listening to it you will never again drown in this samsara. One should be at peace within with the mind under control, having abandoned forbidden and selfish actions and also pleasures which arise from sense-contacts.

One should endow oneself with faith. He should then sit on a soft seat in a comfortable posture conducive to equilibrium. He should then restrain the activities of the mind and the senses. He should then repeat OM till the mind gains perfect peace.

Then do pranayama for the purification of the mind, etc. Gently and gradually withdraw the senses from their contact with the external objects. Investigate that method by which you know the source of the body, the senses, the mind, and the buddhi (intelligence) and let them return to their source. First rest in the cosmic manifest being (virat). After this rest in the unmanifest and then in the supreme cause of all. (VI.1:126)

Bharadvaja said:
I am that supreme Brahman which is eternal, omnipresent, pure, peaceful, indivisible and free from motion, which is devoid of gathering and scattering but whose thoughts materialize, which is free from merit and demerit, which is the source of this universe, and which is the supreme light, one without a second.

Thus should one contemplate. Thus does the mind cease to be agitated. When the movement of the mind has ceased the self shines by its own light. In that light all sorrow comes to an end and there is the bliss which the self experiences in itself. There is direct awareness of the truth, There is none but the self.

Valmiki said:
Seeing that Rama had become totally absorbed in the self, Visvamitra said to the sage Vasistha: O son of the Creator, O holy one, you are indeed great. You have proved that you are the guru by this shaki-pata (direct transmission of spiritual energy). He is a guru who is able to give rise to god-consciousness in the disciple by a look, by a touch, by verbal communication or by grace. (VI.1:128)

Rama asked:
O sage, kindly tell me the form, the nature, the location of the Individual Self and its relation to the supreme self.

Vasistha replied:
O Rama, it is the infinite consciousness that is known as the Individual Self when it becomes aware of itself as the object on account of the notion it entertains of itself. It is also known as chit or pure consciousness.

This Individual Self is neither a subatomic particle, nor is it gross and physical, nor void nor anything else. The omnipresent pure consciousness is known as Individual Self when it experiences its own being. It is more minute than an atom and larger than the largest. It is all and it is pure consciousness. That is known as the Individual Self by the wise.

Whatever object is experienced here is but its own reflection that it experiences then and there. Such experiencing is the very nature of the Individual Self, even as motion is the nature of wind.

When such experiencing ceases, the Individual Self becomes Brahman.

On account of its nature as consciousness, when the Individual Self entertains the notion of egosense, it builds time, space, motion and substance and function in and through the body. It then perceives all these unrealities within itself as if they were real, even as a person dreams of his own death.

Forgetting its true nature, it then identifies itself with its own false notions. It assumes an accidental relationship with the five senses and experiences their function as if such experience were its own. It shines as the purusha (indwelling presence) and virat (cosmic person), endowed with these five faculties. This is still the subtle and mental being and this is the first emanation from the supreme being. (VI.2:19)

Rama said: I wish to hear from you once again the truth concerning karma or what is known as the divine will (fate).

Vasistha replied:
Divine will and karma are but concepts; the truth is that they are movements in consciousness. When there is such movement, the world-appearance arises; when the movement ceases, the world-appearance also ceases. There is not the least distinction between the movement and consciousness. There is not the least distinction between a person and his karma (action). A creature is known by its characteristic action and such action reveals the character of the creature:

they are inseparable. Hence, the words or concepts divine, action and person are but expression which denote movement in consciousness.

This movement in consciousness, along with the self-limitation in consciousness, serves as the seed for everything, but there is no cause or seed for the movement in consciousness. There is no distinction between the seed and the sprout: therefore all this (body, etc.) is but movement in consciousness.

This movement is obviously omnipotent and hence is able to manifest the gods and the demons and other creatures, mobile and immobile, sentient and insentient.

They who assert that a person and his actions (karma) are different and distinct are animals in human semblance: salutations to them. (VI.2:27)

The body is the result of the permutation and combination of the five elements and is inert. Even the mind, the intellect and the egosense are also of the same elements. When one is able to abandon the inert materiality of the mind, the intellect and the egosense, one attains the pure unconditioned being. This is liberation.

The object arises in the subject but has no independent existence. Hence, even the conditioned state or being is but a notion: it is not real. Therefore, it

vanishes when inquired into. It is best to reject the notion and stop it from arising again by never thinking of it again. There is neither the subject (seer) nor an experiencer, neither the real nor the unreal. There is the supreme peace alone. One who is established in this peace is free from likes and dislikes though engaged in activity. Or he may not engage himself in activity. When the mind is freed of all notions that limit the unconditioned consciousness, how does the sage act in a dualistic way? Free from love, hate and fear, he exists as the immutable self firmly established in the supreme peace.

When there is movement in the infinite consciousness, the notions of I and the world arise. These in themselves are harmless if one realizes that in fact they are non-different from the self or the infinite consciousness. But, when they are considered real in themselves and the world is perceived as real then there is great misfortune. (VI.2:31)

The total abandonment of all notions or ideas is liberation and such an abandonment is possible when the pursuit of pleasure is abandoned. Notions and ideas gradually cease to arise and to expand in one who resolutely refrains from associating words with meanings, in his own mind — whether these words are uttered by others or they arise in one’s own mind.

The abandonment of egosense is the End to ignorance; this and nothing else is liberation. The fullness of perfection (nirvana) begins with the effectiveness of self-discipline or the abandonment of the pursuit of pleasure. The life stream of the knower of truth flows in harmony, while the life stream of the ignorant is full of whirlpools. (VI.2:33)

That is known as the supreme state in which no desire arises. The sage who is free from desire functions here as if he were made of wood. He experiences pure void within and pure void without; to him the world is like an empty reed. He who is not enamored of this world and whose heart delights in the cosmic being alone, is at eternal peace and he has overcome this ocean of samsara.

Having overcome desire and abandoned latent tendencies or mental conditioning, speak what is to be spoken, touch what is to be touched, taste diverse flavors, see diverse scenes, and smell diverse scents.

It is only by thus understanding the essencelessness of the objects of experience that one becomes free from the disease of desire. The arising of desire is sorrow and the End to desire is supreme joy; there is no sorrow and no joy comparable to them even in hell and in heaven. The mind is desire and the End to desire is moksha (liberation): this is the essence of all scriptures.

Desire alone is samsara or the world-appearance which is an extension or projection of one’s desire; its non-cognition is liberation. Hence, one should diligently strive to overcome desire; all else is vain. Why does one vainly study the scriptures and hear the instructions of the preceptors?

There is no samadhi without the End to desire! If one finds that it is impossible to overcome desire by his own wisdom, then of what use is the study of scriptures or the instruction of the preceptor? Once this restlessness caused by desire is restrained, then very little effort is needed to attain self-knowledge.

Hence, let everyone strive by every means to overcome desire which is the seed for birth, old age and death. With the arising of desire, bondage arises; and with the End to desire, bondage ceases. Let, therefore, the seed of desire be burnt in one’s own heart by the fire of peace, equanimity and self-control. (VI.2:36)

Consciousness sees in itself its own self as if it were its own object. Though creation is regarded as twofold — the creation by Brahma and the creation by one’s mind — they are essentially the same because both of them spring from the self or infinite consciousness. It is the awareness inherent in consciousness that makes this notion of creation appear to be outside of consciousness. Hence, we see no difference between subjective idealism and absolute idealism.
(VI.2:38)

He in whom the veil of ignorance has been rent asunder and in whom there is no desire shines with the light of pure intelligence. All his doubts are at rest and he illumines all around him. He who comes into contact with him who is free from doubt and who is independent (free from all dependence), is also purified and illuminated.

Real peace is attained when one does not apprehend egosense and all the rest of its retinue, including sorrow. In deep sleep there are no dreams; and the state of deep sleep is not experienced during dreams. Even so, the apprehension of egosense, sorrow (born of the notion of world-appearance) and peace (born of nirvana) do not exist at the same time. All these are but notions: in truth, there is neither creation nor nirvana, neither sleep nor dreams. When all
these are rejected there is real peace.

Confusion or delusion is unreal and the unreal does not exist. That which is not found on investigation does not exist. What is realized on investigation is one’s true nature which alone exists and there is no diversity in it. When one moves away from one’s real nature there is great sorrow; when one rests in the self there is great peace and self-control. (VI.2:39)

When one is spiritually awakened and when one lives with his wakeful state resembling deep sleep (free from psychological distress), the state in which he is, is known as svabhava (self-nature) and this state leads one to liberation. One who is established in Brahman and who does not see a distinction between Brahman and the world lives in this world, too, without creating a division between subject, object and predicate and therefore without a sense of doership.
In his eyes everything appears as it is and there is neither unity nor diversity.

An imaginary city is imagination, not a city. This world-appearance is appearance, not the world. The reality is infinite consciousness or Brahman. (VI.2:41)

The self which is the Lord immediately confers moksha or final liberation when worshipped with inquiry into the nature of the self, with self-control and satsanga (company of the wise).
When the unreality of the objects is understood and it is realized that consciousness is not the object of knowledge, then there is enlightenment which is beyond description. (VI.2:42)

I shall now describe the tree known as samadhana (equanimity) which grows in the forest known as the heart of the wise.

Its seed is a turning away from the world, whether this is caused naturally or otherwise by the experience of sorrow. Mind is a field. It is ploughed by right action, it is watered day and night by right feeling, it is nourished by the practice of pranayama. On this field known as the mind the seed known as samadhi (turning away from the world) falls of its own accord when one is alone in the forest known as wisdom. The wise man should endeavor constantly to
keep this seed of meditation watered and nourished by intelligent methods.

One should seek the company of the wise who are one’s own real well-wishers and who are pure and friendly. Then one should water the seed of samadhi or meditation by means of hearing, reflecting on and contemplating the scriptures which bring about total inner emptiness and which are full of wisdom, pure and cool like nectar. Being aware of the precious seed of meditation or samadhi that has fallen in the field of one’s mind, the wise man should carefully cherish and nourish it by means of austerities, charity, etc.

When this seed begins to sprout, it should be further protected by peace and contentment. At the same time, one should guard it against the birds of desire, attachment to family, pride, greed, etc., with the help of contentment. With the broom of right and loving action the dirt of rajasic restlessness must be swept away, whereas the darkness of tamasic ignorance must be driven away by the light of right understanding.

The lightning known as pride of wealth and the thunderstorm known as pursuit of pleasure strike the field and devastate it. These should be prevented with the trident of magnanimity, compassion, japa, austerity, self-control and contemplation of the significance of the pranava (OM).

If it is thus protected, this seed grows into wisdom. With it the entire field of the mind shines beautifully. The sprout grows two leaves. One is known as study of scriptures and the other is satsanga (company of the men of wisdom). Soon it will grow the bark known as contentment with the sap known as dispassion or uncoloredness of mind. Fed by the rain of scriptural wisdom, it will soon grow into a tree. Then it is not easily swayed even if it is shaken by the monkeys known as raga-dvesha (attraction and aversion). Then there arise in it the branches known as pure knowledge which reach out far and wide.

Clarity of vision, truthfulness, courage, unclouded understanding, equanimity, peace, friendliness, compassion, fame, etc., are its other branches that arise when one is fully established in dhyana or meditation. (VI.2:44)

The ignorant person cannot meditate: nor is it desirable for him to do so. The enlightened person is already established in the self! He is an enlightened person who is totally disinterested in the objects of perception, but this is not possible for an ignorant person. When the awareness of the object is seen as the pure consciousness which is eternal, it is known as samadhana, the state of equanimity.

When the subject and the object merge, the mind is said to be in the state of samadhana. Resting in the self implies the disinterestedness of the self in the objects. On the other hand, ignorance is the movement of the self towards the objects. Surely such movement takes place only in the ignorant: no one who has tasted nectar is interested in bitter things.

Hence, in the case of the wise, meditation becomes natural and effortless. When there is no craving, the self is never abandoned. Or, when the mind expands to include the entire universe, again, the self is not abandoned. This much is certain:

until one attains self-knowledge, there is need to strive for samadhi. He who is established in samadhi is Brahman in human form. Salutations to him.

When there is disinterestedness in the objects, not even the gods can disturb one’s meditation. Hence, one should cultivate firm meditation (vajra-dhyanam). The means to this are (1) scriptures, (2) company of holy ones and (3) meditation.

Ignorance is not dispelled by half-knowledge, even as there is no relief from cold when one sits near a painting of fire. The ignorant sees the world as a physical reality, the wise as consciousness. To the wise there is neither egosense nor the world. His vision of the world is indescribably wonderful. To the ignorant the world is one of dry wood and stone. One who is enlightened sees the world as one self; the ignorant does not see it as the one self. The ignorant engages himself in endless arguments.

The enlightened is friendly with all. Turiya or samadhi is the natural state which is what exists in and through the wakeful, dream and sleep states. Conditioning alone is the mind, which ceases when inquired into. (VI.2:45)

He who is not swayed by craving for pleasure is known as perfectly enlightened (sambuddha). Such perfect enlightenment arises from complete turning away from the pursuit of pleasure. He who rests in the self does not experience craving at all. Desire for pleasure-experiences only arises when there is movement away from the self. At the conclusion of the study of scripture, japa, etc., one enters into samadhi; after the practice of samadhi, one should study, do japa
etc. O Rama, rest in the state of nirvana at all times. (VI.2:46)

Wealth is the source of endless misfortune, prosperity is perpetual adversity, enjoyment of pleasure is enduring disease. All these are misunderstood by the perverse intellect. In this world contentment alone is the best medicine, the best tonic and the greatest good fortune. The contented heart is ready for enlightenment. First turn away from worldliness, then resort to satsanga, inquire into the truth of the scriptures and cultivate disinterestedness in
pleasure and you will attain the supreme truth. (VI.2:47)

When the mind is established in dispassion and in holy company, and when through the study of the scriptures there is disinterestedness in the pursuit of pleasure, one does not long for wealth and treats even the wealth that one has as dry dung. He treats his relatives and friends as co-pilgrims and serves them appropriately at the proper times. He is not attached to seclusion, gardens, holy places or his own home, to fun and frolic with friends or scriptural discussions, and he does not spend too much time in any of these.

He rests in the supreme state. The supreme state is that which is. Division in it is created by ignorance and this ignorance is false and non-existent! He who is firmly established in the self and who is undisturbed like a sculpted figure, is not swayed by sense-objects. I and the world time and space, knowledge or void — these, though they may continue to be, are not experienced by the knower of truth. One should salute that sun in human form whose
personality is devoid of rajas (restless action or impurity), who has transcended even satva or purity and in whom the darkness of ignorance has no place at all. The state of one who has transcended all division and whose mind has become no-mind is beyond description. Adored by him day and night, the Lord bestows upon him the supreme state of nirvana.

The Lord is neither far nor inaccessible. One’s own illuminated self is the Lord. (VI.2:48)

The world is not material; the void is not seen. The mind has come to naught. What remains is the truth, indescribable not non-being. The intellect is baffled by conflicting statements, but when the truth is investigated by proper methods, it is realized. He whose intelligence is awakened is known as the knower of truth. He is established in non-dual consciousness and he does not perceive the world as the world.

The world-appearance arises only when the infinite consciousness sees itself as an object: it were better that this did not happen. But once this has arisen, it is externalized and materialized. The awareness of the matter is the mind and the mind binds itself to the body. But all these are but notions and verbal descriptions and these distinctions are notional and imaginary. The self which is consciousness does not ever become an object or material. When one is established in self-knowledge even consciousness and unconsciousness become meaningless words. (VI.2:49)

Rama asked: Consciousness is pure and the cosmic person is but a notion. How does this cosmic person or Brahma come to acquire limbs like earth, heaven and the nether world?

Vasistha continued:
In the beginning, O Rama, there was but pure consciousness which could not be said to be either existence or non-existence. Within itself it became aware of itself as its object of awareness. Without abandoning its position as the subject it seems also to become the object. That is the Individual Self from which the mind, etc., arises. However, all these are non-different from pure consciousness.

When the mind which is also pure consciousness thinks I am space, it experiences space, though such space is non-existent. The self or pure consciousness is void and immaterial. as long as there is the notion of the physical universe, consciousness experiences it as if it were real; when it so wills it, it winds up this creation which then comes to an end.

Vasana or psychological conditioning, which gives rise to notions and to experiences of all kinds, ceases to be when the vision of the truth or the understanding of the reality arises. There is egolessness and therefore oneness: liberation or moksha alone remains after that.

This is the nature of Brahma. This is how the world exists as the body of Brahma, the cosmic person. The notion that arises in that cosmic person appears to be this universe. It is pure void; in fact, there is no such thing as the world nor what can be regarded as you or I. In pure and indivisible consciousness what is the world, how and by whom is it created and with what materials or co-operating causes?

It appears but it is no more than an illusory appearance. It is neither one with the infinite consciousness nor different from it. There is neither unity nor diversity. Infinite, indivisible consciousness alone is the reality. Hence, live free from all conditioning, acting spontaneously and appropriately in each situation. (VI.2:72)

Rama said:
Just as memory is at the root of the perception in both the waking and the dream states, it is memory alone that gives rise to the feeling that the external objects are real.

Vasistha continued:
The appearances of diverse objects in the universe arises in the infinite consciousness when it becomes aware of itself — coincidentally (like a ripe coconut falling when a crow alights on it.). Whenever and wherever this consciousness contemplates itself in whatever manner, then and there it appears so, without any cause. The notions This is waking, This is dream, This is sleep and This is turiya arise in consciousness because they are consciousness. In fact there
is neither dream nor waking state nor sleep nor turiya nor something beyond: everything is pure tranquillity and silence. Or, one may say that all this is waking at all times, or dream or deep sleep or turiya. Or we do not know what it is, for everything is experienced to be what it is thought of. Its manifestation and unmanifestation — knowledge or ignorance — are two inherent states — like the movement or non-movement of air. Therefore, there is no distinction in the states of waking, etc., nor is there anything known as memory or desire. All these are limited vision. When it is only inner experience that shines as external object, where is objectivity or memory?

Memory can arise only from experience and experience is possible only if the object is real.

The notional appearance of the infinite consciousness becomes later known as the earth, etc. Let this consciousness shine as it will: it is neither real nor unreal, neither something nor nothing. That itself dwells in the heart as the notion of an object which is conceived to be outside. What is inside or outside? Consider it OM and rest in peace. (VI.2:167)

Without cause this world-appearance arises in consciousness. It is experienced by the consciousness within itself. It is consciousness which considers itself the world and experiences the world. There is therefore no memory, or dream or time, etc. involved in this. That which is a mass of consciousness within appears to be the world outside; however, there is neither an outside nor an inside, nothing whatsoever except the supreme reality. Therefore, just as the
infinite Brahman is real, in the same way this observed objective universe is also real. (VI.2:168)
He to whom joy is no joy and sorrow is no sorrow, is a liberated one. He whose heart is not agitated even while being engaged in pleasure is a liberated one. He is a liberated one who rejoices in pure consciousness itself. As well as in the objective world. Having roamed this samsara and experienced all kinds of pleasure and pain, the Individual Self has the good fortune to come into contact with a holy man and cross this ocean of samsara. He sleeps in great peace and even without a bed.

Though he is engaged in intense activity here, he enjoys the peace of deep sleep. This is a great wonder. This sleep cannot be disturbed by anything. He is truly intoxicated who does not see the world even though his eyes are wide open. He enjoys the bliss of deep sleep. He has dispelled the notions of the world from his heart and he has reached fullness.

He has quaffed the nectar and he is at peace. His delight is independent of pleasure. He has turned away from greed. He knows that in every atom there is a universe. He is engaged in
diverse and intense activity, though he does nothing. He is aware that this world-appearance has the same reality as a dream, thus he has entered into the peace and the bliss of deep sleep. His consciousness is more expansive than even space. By a supreme self-effort, he has realized self-knowledge and he lives as if he were seeing a long dream in pure space. He is fully awake and enlightened, though he appears to be asleep; he enjoys the greatest delight, though he
appears to be asleep. He has reached the highest state. (VI.2:169)

The practice of contemplation in which the mind is restrained from undergoing any modification is as good as supreme inertia; on the other hand, when such modifications exist in the mind, it is the seat of diversity or samsara. By such contemplation a state of equanimity is not attained. If it is claimed that liberation is attained when the mind is forcibly restrained from all modifications, then why is it not attained in sleep?

Therefore, only when it is realized that there is no creation at all, does real self-knowledge arise which leads to liberation. Such liberation is unending, infinite and unconditioned — truly nirvikalpa samadhana (samadhi). In it one remains firmly rooted in self-knowledge, without the least agitation. It is also known as eternal sleep, turiya, nirvana and moksha.

Dhyana or contemplation or meditation is perfect awakening or enlightenment. The realization that the objective universe does not exist is perfect awakening. It does not resemble a state of inertia, nor deep sleep, nor nirvikalpa samadhi nor savikalpa samadhi, nor is it an unreal imaginary state. In it the universe exists as it is but it is dissolved at the same time. In it there is supreme peace.

That perfect awakening is attained by a careful investigation of this scripture constantly, day and night, not by pilgrimage nor by charity, not by acquiring knowledge nor by the practice of meditation or yoga, not by austerity (penance) nor by religious rites. By none of these methods does illusion come to an end. They only lead to heaven and such other rewards, not to liberation. Delusion ends only when self-knowledge arises in one who has carefully studied and investigated this scripture.

It is by self-knowledge or enlightenment that these three (the mind, the objects of perception and the body) will reach a quiescent state of equanimity, not otherwise. For these three arise from ignorance. By a mere study of this scripture that ignorance is dispelled. The beauty in this scripture is that its student is not abandoned to his despair; if something is not clear in the first instance, a further study of the scripture makes it clear. This scripture dispells delusion and enables you to realize that the ordinary life itself is the supreme state.

Therefore, one should study at least a small part of this scripture daily. If, however, one thinks it is not authoritative because it is of human origin, one can resort to the study of any other scripture dealing with self-knowledge and final liberation. But one should not waste one’s lifetime. (VI.2:174)

Kundadanta said:
Conquest of the mind alone is the destruction of all doubts. I have knowledge in which there is no contradiction. All my doubts are at rest. I am firmly established in the supreme state. I have learnt this from you: the infinite self or consciousness alone exists in the infinite space as this world.

Everything exists in everything as everything everywhere forever. It is Brahman or the infinite consciousness alone that appears as all this and is experienced as all this. (VI.2:185)

Vasistha continued: When knowledge becomes the object of knowing, it is known as bondage. Liberation is when knowledge ceases to be such an object of knowing.

Rama asked: How does the firm conviction that knowledge is the object of knowing come to an end?

Vasistha said: When there is full awakening, the dullness of intelligence comes to an end. Then liberation which is formless, peaceful and real comes into being.

Rama said: What is that perfect awakening which is perfect knowledge and by which a living being here is freed from bondage?

Vasistha said: Knowledge does not have an object to know. Knowledge is independent and eternal; it is beyond description and definition. When this truth is directly realized there is perfect knowledge.

Rama said: What is the division that arises between knowledge and the object of knowing? In what sense do we use the word knowledge?

Vasistha said: Full awakening or enlightenment is jnana or knowledge. Its contemplation is the means to such awakening. There is in reality no division between knowledge and the object of knowing.

Rama said: If that is so, how has this deluded vision of knowledge and the object of knowing arisen in the first place and become firmly rooted?

Vasistha said: It is on account of the deluded belief that there is something other than knowledge, something outside of itself, that the division has arisen. In fact, there is nothing either inside or outside.

Rama said: All this that seems to be obvious — I, you, etc., and all these elements and the diverse beings that we surely experience — how can it be accepted that they do not exist?

Vasistha said: The cosmic person or virat and the cosmos, etc., did not in fact come into being at the very beginning of creation. Hence, there has never been an object of seeing at any time whatsoever.

Rama asked: This world was, is and will be, and it is experienced every day. How can it be said that it was never created?

Vasistha replied: This world-appearance is unreal even as the following are unreal, though they appear to be real: the dream-objects, water in the mirage, the second moon when one is suffering from diplopia and castles in the air.

Rama asked: What is the mind, how does one inquire into its nature and what is the fruit of such inquiry?

Vasistha replied: Consciousness becoming aware of itself as an object is known as chittam (mind). Inquiry is what you are doing now. By this, mental conditioning comes to an end.

Rama asked: How is it possible for this mind to be unconditioned so that nirvana may be attained?

Vasistha replied: Surely an object or mental conditioning is not a reality. Hence, the mind too is not a real entity.

Rama said: But we do experience its existence!

Vasistha replied: The world is not what it appears in the eyes of the ignorant: what is real in the eyes of the enlightened is indescribable.

Rama said: What is the vision of the ignorant? And why is it indescribable in the eyes of the enlightened?

Vasistha replied: The ignorant perceive the world as having a beginning and an end. The enlightened do not see it at all for it has not been created at all and hence does not exist.
VI.2:190)

Rama said:
I am nirvana. I am free from doubt. I am free. I am blissful. I am as I am as the infinite. I am the all at all times or I am nothing and at peace. I am the one reality and I am not. Wonderful is this supreme peace. What is to be gained has to be gained. The perception of the objects has been abandoned. True enlightenment has dawned and it shall never set again.

The awakening or the enlightenment happens by itself, just like the sun’s brilliance at noon. All cravings and desires come to an end in the awakened person;

therefore nirvana arises in him without his desiring it. He is forever engaged in meditation, he is always established in his own real nature: therefore he does not seek anything or reject anything. Like a lamp in whose light all actions take place and in which the lamp itself is not interested, he lives and acts but is free from volition.

This samsara is full of sorrow; nirvana is absolute coolness. The latter alone is the reality; the former is not. Like the uncarved figures that exist in a piece of wood, this samsara exists in the infinite consciousness — which is indivisible but experienced diversely by diverse beings, each of whom carves out of it, as it were, what he desires — whether it is pleasure or liberation.

However, all these are in essence the reality itself, even as the carved figures are in essence non-different from the wood. The life or death of relatives seen in a dream has no effect on oneself after awakening from sleep; even so the enlightened ones are unaffected by the world-appearance. When all this is seen as the one infinite consciousness, there is no room for delusion.

There is End to craving. End to craving intensifies awakening or enlightenment; and the latter intensifies the End to craving. The hall-mark of enlightenment is this End to craving. When the latter is absent, there is no enlightenment but scholasticity which is in fact ignorance or viciousness. If these two do not promote each other, then they are obviously unreal and absent.

The perfect End to craving born of the perfect enlightenment, itself is known as liberation. When this is attained, one does not grieve even though continuing to live.

For one who rests in his own self and rejoices in the self, in whom cravings have ceased and egosense is absent, life becomes non-volitional and there is perfect purity. One in millions, however, is able to reach this unconditioned state of pure being. (VI.2:194)

Vasistha said:
Bravo, O Rama, you have attained enlightenment. Your words have the power of enlightenment. The unreality which seems to exist here disappears when it is not conceived or thought of. This supreme peace is nirvana and this is the supreme truth.

That state in which the enlightened one exists as if he lives in the very center of a rock, whether he is alone and at rest or engaged in diverse activities — that is the state of purity and that is liberation. We live in that state, O Rama, though we are constantly engaged in diverse activity. You, too, rest in that state and carry on your work.

Now O Rama, please tell me how you realize that this world, though it seems to be so real, is non-existent.

Rama replied:
This world has not been created even at the very beginning. How then can it be considered to exist now? It has no cause: how can an effect be without a cause? Change implies the End to one state and the arising of the subsequent state. This is impossible in the changeless reality.

If this world is an illusory appearance that is imagined to exist in Brahman, then it is only an illusion. In a dream a moment is experienced as a lifetime: even so, in this world-appearance time is experienced along with the sun and the moon on which time is based.

In the infinite consciousness, there is this notion of creation with all its corollaries — time, space, etc. This non-entity appears to function and that, too, is false. The accidental arising of this notion appears to persist and become deep-rooted. Or, it has to be considered real. How can the false ever even appear to exist?

Or perhaps there is no such thing as the real and nothing as unreal. Whatever is, is. That which is is clear as the sky, full as the center of a rock, silent and peaceful as the stone, and infinite.

Such is the creation. For this creation exists in the pure, infinite consciousness which is the reality of all thoughts and concepts which together form the subtle body, as it were, of the infinite consciousness. The pure experiencing of awareness that arises in that body is known as this creation. Thus this creation itself is Brahman.

In the supreme being itself does the other (creation) exist; the latter belongs to the former and is non-different from it. It is therefore supreme peace itself. There is neither a creation nor movement nor activity. When dream is realized as dream, the false notion vanishes. Awareness drops its object (the world) and rests in the infinite consciousness.

Vasistha asked:
Why should we not assume that just as the seed is the cause for the sprout, Brahman is the cause for the creation?

Rama replied:
The sprout in the seed is not seen as sprout, but only as seed. Hence it is only seed. In the same way, if this world exists in Brahman, it is only Brahman and not the world; and Brahman undergoes no change. since Brahman is unchanging and formless, it is impossible to accept that it gives rise to the world which is changing and which is endowed with form. To say that this creation exists in the indivisible Brahman just as a gem lies in the box, is meaningless
prattle.

The theory that the supreme Brahman is the support for the universe which has a form is also unacceptable: for that which has a form must perish.

The concept that this world is but the dream-object that has thus materialized is unacceptable, for the dream-objects are those which have been experienced by oneself. However, the waking and the dream realities belong to two different planes: for the person whose death was dreamed of is seen on waking up from dream. Thus the world has not been created even as a dream-object; but just as the dream-object is only consciousness, even so all that is seen as the world is only the infinite consciousness.

This supreme truth is established only in total silence, not by logic, discussion and argumentation. (VI.2:195)

Rama said:
Thus, O sage, it is clear that self-knowledge is beyond the reach of the jugglery of words. How is it attained by the conflicting statements of scriptures?

If it is not so attained what is the use of these scriptures? Pray tell me whether self-knowledge follows the instruction of the preceptor and the study of scriptures.

Vasistha said:
It is true, O Rama, that the study of the scriptures is not the cause for the attainment of self-knowledge. Scriptures are composed of diverse expressions; the supreme being is indescribable.

However, I shall explain to you how the study of scriptures has come to be associated with self-knowledge. Not by the study of the scriptures, nor by hearing the instructions of a preceptor, nor by charity nor even by the worship of god is the direct realization of the supreme truth attained.

Because that is beyond all these. However, I shall tell you how these, though not the actual means, have come to be regarded as the means to self-realization. By the practice of the precepts of the scriptures, the mind becomes pure and transparent; then without even wishing for it one sees the supreme truth. The scripture promotes the satvika part of ignorance, which is purity of mind. This purity destroys the tamasic (dull) part of ignorance.

By its very appearance in the sky the sun is reflected in the ocean, without either of them desiring this. Even so by the simple coming together of the scripture and the seeker, the truth is reflected in the latter. Even so the scripture purifies the mind and the clean mind reflects the truth.

There is light everywhere in the sky, but it is only when light meets with an obstruction that it is able to illumine: even so when the scripture (or the guru) meets the seeker there is illumination. Hence, the supreme truth is realized when one contemplates the real meaning of the scriptures with the aid of the words of the preceptor, satsanga, self-discipline and control of the mind. (VI.2:197)

Once again I shall tell you something, O Rama, to which please lend your ear. By repeatedly listening to the truth even an ignorant person is awakened.

To begin with I expounded the sthiti prakaranam in which the truth concerning the creation of this universe was revealed. after that I expounded in the upashanti prakaranam the means by which this world-illusion might be dispelled. After thus getting rid of this world-illusion, one should live here free from all mental agitation and distress.

One should live in the world fully established in the state of equanimity which confers all blessings and which bestows the highest consolation, which is the greatest wealth and which enhances one’s good fortune. Equanimity enables purity to grow. All other noble virtues follow this one. None of the blessings and wealth in the world is comparable to equanimity. It puts an end to all sorrow. Rare are those souls who are established in equanimity, to whom all are
friends.

To one who is established in equanimity, sorrow is happiness and death is new life. Who can measure the greatness of one who is free from exultation and depression, who does what has to be done when and how it is to be done, and who sees what is to be seen, as it is. Friends and relations, enemies and kings have the greatest trust in one who thus lives a natural life. In the course of such natural living, even if he should become angry, it does not hurt anyone.

The people applaud whatever he does and whatever he eats, even if he overpowers another or reprimands another — for he is established in equanimity. They applaud whatever he does now or whatever he did long ago, whether good or not so good.

They who are established in equanimity do not experience despair, whether they are subjected to happiness or to great unhappiness. Hence one should attain equanimity in all conditions of life, pleasant and unpleasant, in honor and dishonor. (VI.2:198)

In this world there are the fully enlightened ones, unenlightened ones and semi-enlightened ones who abandon right actions, too, and are thus neither here nor there. The forest-life is not essential for liberation, nor living in one’s own country nor an ascetic life, nor the abandonment of activity.

Liberation is attained by one whose very nature is totally free and unattached. He whose mind is free and unattached does not get involved once again in this samsara. O Rama, you are the supreme state. Remain what you are, free from likes and dislikes, established in the supreme truth. In that Brahman there are no impurities, changes, veils, cravings or aversions. There is nothing more to say. (VI.2:199)

Rama replied:
By your grace, I have attained supreme purity; all the impurities have cleared away. All my misunderstands and delusions have been dispelled. My bondage has been cut. My intelligence is pure like a crystal. My mind does not crave for more instruction.

I have nothing to do with anything — neither instructions nor any objects, neither relatives nor scriptures, nor even renunciation. I behold the world as the pure, infinite, indivisible consciousness. The world is otherwise a void which disappears the moment the illusion vanishes.

I shall do whatever you wish that I should do and I shall live doing whatever I have to do or wish to do, without exultation or depression, for my delusion has been dispelled. Whether this creation becomes something else or whether the winds of cosmic dissolution blow or whether this country be prosperous, I am established in self-knowledge. I am at peace. My vision is clear. It is difficult for my real state to be seen and understood. I am free from hopes and desires. I shall live and rule like the other kings, whether they are enlightened or ignorant, but without mental agitation and endowed with equal vision. As long as this body lasts I shall rule this kingdom, endowed with a pure vision and freed from all doubts concerning the nature of this samsara, just as a child engages itself in play.

Vasistha said:
Bravo, O Rama, you have truly reached the supreme state, beyond joy and sorrow, and you have transcended all that is found in this world and in the next. You will now fulfill the wishes of the sage Visvamitra and rule the kingdom.

After the assembly once again cheered, Rama said:
Lord, just as fire purifies gold, you have purified our hearts. They who consider their body as the all now see the entire universe as the self. I have attained the plenum of existence. I am free from all doubts. I am full of bliss which is eternal and undiluted. I rejoice in my own heart which has been purified by the nectarine words of supreme wisdom. By your grace I have attained the state in which the whole world itself appears to be the eternal, immortal and infinite reality. (VI.2:201)

Valmiki said:
O Bharadvaja, thus did Rama and others attain supreme knowledge and the state beyond sorrow. Even so, acquire this attitude and live as a liberated sage, free from doubt. Truly, by listening to this scripture you are already liberated; you are a "Liberated soul while in Body".

Even a young boy listening to this attains self-knowledge. Even the ignorant ones, in whose hearts the bondage caused by cravings is strong and persistent, rise beyond the state of division by a study of this scripture that deals with liberation, even as young boys become mature men. They will never again be involved in samsara.

Even they who recite this scripture without understanding the meaning, they who write this in a book, they who make someone read it or comment upon it, they attain great merit and enjoy life in heaven, and in the third birth attain liberation.